Denton City utilities board approves $3.5M engineering selection after staff explains pre‑qualified process
January 12, 2026 | Denton City, Denton County, Texas
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The City of Denton Public Utilities Board approved item B on Jan. 12, 2026, after staff described the city’s use of a pre‑qualified engineering list to select a single firm for a project the board identified in discussion as about $3.5 million. Board members asked for more documentation of the final selection criteria before voting.
Lori Hill, the city’s purchasing manager, told the board that Denton maintains a pre‑qualified list for engineering services and “every 3 years we send out a request for qualifications and we qualify firms in different sections.” She said staff take the relevant category’s qualified firms, “review qualifications, they’ll ask for more qualifications, and then they pick the most qualified from that.” Hill added that because the list had been established previously, “it wasn’t necessarily an RFQ done recently” but that project teams evaluate firms “every single time for every project to make sure they’re picking the most qualified.”
Board member Lee Rybeck pressed staff for more detail on how the final pick was made, saying, “But it’s not a small quantity of money and it’s for an important project. I would have appreciated some further information … why this particular firm was chosen.” Hill responded that scoring for pre‑qualified lists is informal and that staff could add selection rationale to future agenda information sheets (AISs).
David Brown, Water Utilities Project Manager, described the procurement steps and affirmed that the selection used the city’s pre‑qualified engineering process approved previously by planning/board and council. After the exchange, a board member moved to approve item B, another seconded, and the chair called the voice vote; the motion carried.
Why it matters: The board approved a large engineering‑services selection while a member requested more transparent documentation of final selection criteria. Staff said the city uses a pre‑qualification system to speed procurement but acknowledged they do not always include informal scoring details in the AIS and can add more explanation going forward.
Next steps: Item B was approved; no additional follow‑up tasks or deadlines were recorded during the meeting.
Lori Hill, the city’s purchasing manager, told the board that Denton maintains a pre‑qualified list for engineering services and “every 3 years we send out a request for qualifications and we qualify firms in different sections.” She said staff take the relevant category’s qualified firms, “review qualifications, they’ll ask for more qualifications, and then they pick the most qualified from that.” Hill added that because the list had been established previously, “it wasn’t necessarily an RFQ done recently” but that project teams evaluate firms “every single time for every project to make sure they’re picking the most qualified.”
Board member Lee Rybeck pressed staff for more detail on how the final pick was made, saying, “But it’s not a small quantity of money and it’s for an important project. I would have appreciated some further information … why this particular firm was chosen.” Hill responded that scoring for pre‑qualified lists is informal and that staff could add selection rationale to future agenda information sheets (AISs).
David Brown, Water Utilities Project Manager, described the procurement steps and affirmed that the selection used the city’s pre‑qualified engineering process approved previously by planning/board and council. After the exchange, a board member moved to approve item B, another seconded, and the chair called the voice vote; the motion carried.
Why it matters: The board approved a large engineering‑services selection while a member requested more transparent documentation of final selection criteria. Staff said the city uses a pre‑qualification system to speed procurement but acknowledged they do not always include informal scoring details in the AIS and can add more explanation going forward.
Next steps: Item B was approved; no additional follow‑up tasks or deadlines were recorded during the meeting.
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